The present disclosure is related generally to the field of dental treatment. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to a method for designing and implementing a restored smile to improve the visual appearance of a patient's smile and in presenting a modified image of the patient showing the patient with the improved smile.
Treatments having to do with smile improvement can range from inexpensive to expensive and can range from generally non-invasive and/or time consuming to invasive and/or time consuming. For example, treatments can include whitening, reshaping and restoring, straightening or other movement of teeth, oral surgery (e.g., to remove teeth or bone mass), plastic surgery (e.g., cheeks, lips, other facial shaping, etc.), and other treatment types.
As the cost, invasiveness, and/or time period for treatment increases, the reluctance of a patient to go forward with the treatment may also increase, in some instances. It may also be difficult for some patients to understand what the end result of a treatment may be or how the overall effect on their appearance may be improved, which may also be a factor in deciding whether or not to move forward with a particular treatment.
Further, in dentistry one goal is often to conserve healthy tooth mass. However, in some instances, such as in some cosmetic dentistry procedures, healthy tooth mass may be removed aggressively to more quickly improve the smile of the patient. The removal of such healthy tooth mass may, in some instances, reduce the overall health and/or longevity of a patient's teeth.
Also, some treatment professionals may not have the level of skill or experience needed to properly design and implement an improved smile for a patient. Such treatment professionals may not be able to properly design a smile for a patient and therefore may create unhappy patients and can damage teeth requiring further corrective dental action, which can be costly and/or harmful to the teeth.
Additionally, within the dental profession, some treatment professionals may not have the skills, training, and/or resources to provide a comprehensive diagnosis and analysis of a patient's smile and/or the options to set the right patient expectations with respect to the plan to restore the smile. In such instances, patients may become unhappy when treatment professionals do not have the ability to provide proper smile restoration when completed.